What a Difference a Day Makes

To quote Annie "yesterday was plain awful!" It was cold, snowy, blowy, and gray.

Today is much better with lots of sun. I'm beginning to think I may have S.A.D. My mood just goes through the ceiling on sunny days and takes a serious dive on gray days. Maybe I need one of the pricey little depression lights.

Today is beautiful and I feel like I can handle anything. I'm even enjoying sweeping the kitchen such is my joy. The flowers aren't blooming but they will be soon. We're having steaks on the grill for supper. The weather is going to be astounding for Minnesota later this week, so I have many plans for the grill.

Today we ventured out and visited many Open Houses in the area. Due to this crazy recession and my husband's line of work, we may be downsizing our living arrangements. His career is directly tied to the economy, and it's been rough to say the least. But we had fun looking at smaller places and imagining. Some houses were downright cute with pretty little backyards. It's always hard to come back to the reality of our messy dusty LIVED IN home after seeing all those spiffed-up places. We love our house, and hope things turn around thereby allowing us to stay, but we have to be open to other possibilities.

Addendum at 6:30pm - steaks were superb, made even more wonderful by a bottle of Red Truck. I also made a giant salad just the way I like it: with olives, peppers, red tip lettuce, croutons, and my own dressing. Now if only I had one lovely bite of Dove chocolate. Another plus: twin #2 was in bad form and smarted off, so now SHE'S doing the dishes!!!

Today, I'm glad I don't live in Duluth

Duluth Minnesota is one of my favorite places on earth. In fact the whole North Shore ranks right up there. But today, I'm happy with our cold April rain and high winds. Northern Minnesota/Duluth is having a major blizzard with 50mph winds driving over a foot of snow with more snow on the way. A gale warning is posted for Lake Superior where waves up to 16 feet are expected. Thousands are without power.

HOWEVER, I'd really, really like to be holed up in a cabin with wood heat and hot coffee, and just sit and watch Mother Nature and powerful Lake Superior in action. That lake just speaks the language of my soul and I can't wait to go back. It must be in top form today.

Addendum at 9:30pm: it's snowing here too. Drat.
Addendum #2: this morning everything was coated with cold snow and the gray wind is harsh. For obvious reasons the pretty spring birds are hiding and the only ones visiting our trees are the scary crows and blackbirds. This Spring is starting to feel like a Steven King novel.

WARNING!

A warning from all of the women in the world:

When a man says "trust me, I know when to pull out" it's not going to end well for you.

How Come?

Often, I ponder. . . . .

1. How come the ranch dressing in restaurants tastes so much better than anything I can get at the grocery store?

2. Why does red licorice give me heartburn?

3. Why can't my family see the stuff piled up on the stairs?

4. Why does everything at the Minnesota State Fair cost $20?


5. Why am I always at the 4-way stop with the teenager who doesn't understand 4-way stops?

6. Why do I always ruin every nice shirt with one little spot of olive oil?

7. Why doesn't the government provide grants for kids' sports equipment and fees?

8. How come missing just one freakin day of flossing, and my gums go to pot?

9. Why does everyone eat in the living room, when the rule is NO eating in the living room?

10. How come American actors are drop dead beautiful while British actors are just so-so? For the record, I prefer the British ones - they're funnier.

11. I'm 46, and still have acne and oily skin. At what age, exactly, will I "grow out of it"?

12. When will Spring get here?

My Life as a Sitcom

Ever take a step back and realize your life is like a comedy, but without the laugh track? So I just provide an internal laugh track and chuckle my way through.

1. The CD/Radio in my van is stuck ON. There is no way on God's Green Earth I can turn that sucker off short of ripping it out of the dashboard. And the volume control has gone down too, so it's just loud enough to be annoying but not loud enough to actually HEAR what's being said. And we don't have the money right now to fix or replace it. I've discovered that if I put in a blank CD, at least it's silent.

2. Half of the dashboard lights in the same van have gone down. Think there's a connection? But I can still see most of the speedometer. And we've decided a pen light duct taped to the steering column will do when the whole enchilada breaks. No way will we pay someone to tear out the dashboard for diagnostics on a van with 130,000 miles on it.

3. One of my twins has become like the Tide stain commercial. I'm trying to tell her something and she's interrupting because she's 14 and therefore knows it ALL. Then 3 minutes later she's asking "when are we leaving?", "how do I do this?", and the whirlpool starts again.

4. Today I put in my first contact lens at exactly the same moment an undried soap bubble entered my eye socket. Much cursing ensued.

5. We own three cats, and I'm a dog person. And lately a stray has been hanging around who looks like Mao Tse Tung, so we call him Chairman Mao and the kids hiss at him.

Decisions, Decisions

OK, it's time to confess, I can't decide between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama!
On the Clinton end, I think she is one tough cookie with a mind like a steel trap. She would NEVER back down from a challenge. She knows all the insiders and how Washington and the White House operate. But I'm tired of the same old stories from Washington.

On the Obama end, this man can unite like no one I've ever witnessed. He can look at problems from so many angles and not fall back to knee-jerk responses to please his "base", whatever his base may be. And I'm ready for a new direction.

Let me hear from you - what are your opinions?

Tempus Fugit

Time certainly flies, doesn't it?

I went to the grocery store today, and as I walked in I saw a Mom with two wee girls in tow. Those little ones were talking a mile a minute and pulling on Mom's coat while she wrestled them into the cart.

And there I was with my lovely long spring coat but no little hands tugging at the seams. My reading glasses were perched on my head so I could read the price labels. I pushed my cart all alone while browsing at my leisure. I held my remarkably small purse that didn't contain one diaper, one sippy cup, nor any pacifiers.

When did I become an old Mom? Yesterday I was taking little ones to preschool, buying wet wipes, and wrestling my own small girls into the grocery cart. Funny thing is I thought those days would never end. I thought I'd never drink an entire cup of hot coffee nor shop leisurely for groceries on my own. But suddenly those days are gone.

Don't get me wrong, there are many aspects of those days that I most certainly will NOT miss. Trying to control a toddler tantrum AND get the fixings for a few meals simultaneously is not something I wish to repeat. And believe me, being able to read the newspaper AND drink an entire cup of coffee is a treat I relish.

I just get wistful for my little girls.